


That First Birthday

by Acemativity



Series: Akeshu Drabbles Compilations [4]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, But it's never explained why, Dads!!, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, He just does!, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acemativity/pseuds/Acemativity
Summary: “My first birthday with you…” A wistful hum, bare hands reaching to take Akira’s and settle them into his lap firmly, lovingly, protectively. “I think about it still-- quite often, if I’m honest.”There was the soft shift of fabric brushing together, hands further interlocking, and a deeply relaxed sigh before Akira raised one of Goro’s hands, nuzzling the raised knuckles. “What stuck out for you? I’m curious how you felt about it still.. God, it’s been years now, huh?”__________After all these years, Goro can't help but reminisce about the point where his life really began at the age of 19.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Akeshu Drabbles Compilations [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1635136
Comments: 8
Kudos: 76





	That First Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> I AM A DAY LATE TO AKECHI'S BIRTHDAY, I AM SO SORRY MY DEAR CROW SON... BUT HERE IS SOMETHING I WROTE IN A DAY (TODAY) AFTER I GOT SICK AND TIRED OF LOOKING THROUGH AMAZON FOR THINGS I REALLY REALLY DON'T NEED!! Admittedly, this was supposed to be just fluff, but then I got to writing their dialogue about situations before and after things and I got emotional too, so I hope this is a good amount of softness and also a tinge of sadness !  
> I tried a more dialogue-heavy kind of way of story-telling for this one, so writing exactly in the tone of the characters was not quite at the front of my mind, but I hope it is fitting enough not to throw you out of the setting and stuff!!! Love you guys, thank you so much for reading my works, whether you leave kudos or comments, I love ALL of em so so much QwQ <3

“You know.. I never forgot that day.”  
Goro spoke it so softly, his mouth near his own shoulder as if turned away in thoughtful shame. 

Akira shifted, leaning his knees into Goro’s as he turned to better face him, fingers reaching for his chin, “Which day, love?”

“My first birthday with you…” A wistful hum, bare hands reaching to take Akira’s and settle them into his lap firmly, lovingly, protectively. “I think about it still-- quite often, if I’m honest.”

There was the soft shift of fabric brushing together, hands further interlocking, and a deeply relaxed sigh before Akira raised one of Goro’s hands, nuzzling the raised knuckles. “What stuck out for you? I’m curious how you felt about it still.. God, it’s been years now, huh?”

Both shared a soft chuckle, audible only to them amidst the sound of life surrounding them in the park. While they kept an eye on the children playing with excited squeals at the nearby playground, Akira and Goro rested closer together to remain softly spoken, “It really has been, hm..” Goro cleared his throat instinctively at the affection in his voice, always having been a nervous one while in public.  
“Well, it was hot, for one. I think the stress of our situation and the material of that damn school shirt made me sweat more than any teenage boy should-- though we were still young and hormonal,” Goro gave a teasing nudge at Akira, his sweet little laugh filling the space. “I remember how nervous I was that year, after everything that'd happened to us and how much of a pain in the ass you were when I didn’t want to admit how hurt I was..”

“Mm, you were as transparent as glass. You’d get so pale and look so sick when the pain was too much.. Everything in my brain was so alert with you,” Akira swallowed thickly, taking a moment to raise his lips to Goro’s scarred cheekbone. “I loved you, even then. You were trying so hard to act like you hadn’t been severely injured, so we were both equally pains in everyone’s asses. But god, it was worth it..”

“Heh, I suppose we were. I was so bitter to you and you know I’ll always regret that-- but thank you for staying patient. You always stood up to me and it pissed me off, but it definitely worked when I’d give up and just start sobbing into your arms.” Goro paused, enjoying the softness of Akira’s lips grazing against his cheekbone. He held Akira’s hands a little tighter, “Thank you for that. I think that’s the reason our first kiss really happened, with you comforting me and letting it slip that you’d be there for me no matter what… God, I was inconsolable that night.”

Akira moved to kiss the corner of Goro’s lips lightly, “We definitely slept well that night, though.. First night I found out how much I enjoy being the little spoon when cuddling and sleeping too.”

“Mm, that’s right.. Even though I’d been so emotionally wrecked and exhausted and hurt, I really can only think of that night in a more positive light. It hurt so much, but I saw how hurt you were too and--” Goro instinctively wiped at his eyes, “--god, we were a mess. Maybe that’s why I remember my birthday so strongly -- the story was similar in some ways.  
“I remember how hurt I was that day and how it was affecting you too-- I was so full of guilt, dragging you down with me and getting emotional every time you’d even get near me, yet you stayed. I remember how you’d kneel on the floor to be level near my face so you could run your hands through my hair or brush away my tears or just to touch my face and tell me how handsome and pretty I was.. I tried to sleep off the rut I’d dug myself into-- even pretended to sleep as if I could prove to myself that I wasn’t worth your love, yet you… You stayed. You kept humming and murmuring to me and brushing through my hair even when you thought I was asleep and--”

A deep, shuddering gasp hit Goro like a strike of lightning, the emotions distilling from the memory and pouring into his present self. Akira held him like he always did; as if they might be separated by even a small gust of wind as those familiar shudders wracked through Goro’s body. After some emphasis on Akira’s deep breathing and his soft words, Goro continued on, this time much closer into Akira’s ear.

“And then you helped me out of bed.. Took a shower with me for the first time just so you could make sure I wasn’t alone with my thoughts-- and I think you just wanted a little excuse to brush through my hair and give me little kisses.” Akira laughed softly, nuzzling into Goro as he agreed. “You stripped the bed and put it all in the washer so fast-- I’d felt like I had to race you as I was putting on clothes… And then you made me laugh with all the kisses you gave me-- I wasn’t even ticklish, but I wasn’t expecting you to be so sweet and--and silly!”

Another pause, this time with Goro rubbing his forehead against Akira’s neck affectionately.

“You told me that you loved me so many times that day. In any other situation, my jaded self would have taken it as you overcompensating with words alone, but… God, when I’d cry, you’d tear up with me - when I smiled, you smiled wider, and everything was so deliberate and strong. Even though the cake you made me was a bit tilted, I remember seeing how beautiful it was and how great it tasted-- not because it was the first birthday I’ve had genuinely celebrated since my mother, but because you worked so hard on it. You smelled like cake for two weeks straight even before my birthday, I swear..”

Akira hummed, though he sounded more distant, “I remember thinking I’d fucked up majorly when you saw the cake I made you, but then you clung to me like a koala.. God, that was the tipping point for me.. I remember how shocked you looked and the sheer amount of both pain and relief in your expression. Funny enough, I think that’s when I realized just how much pain you were in that morning, and I just--”

Goro interrupted him softly, “I think you cried harder than me. You just kept holding my face and bumping our foreheads together like the cat you are.. I suppose that makes sense, now that I think about it. That’s when I told you how much I loved you, too, huh..”

“It was..” Akira sighed like the sap he was, “I thought I was going to have a heart attack when you told me.. I was just so—“

“Pff, surprised?”

“— I was so happy! God, I was so head over heels for you, Goro, you have no idea..”

“Oh, I think I’ve gotten the idea over these past nine or so years…” Goro replied back, leaning away to smile so widely at Akira. The pads of his thumbs brushed gently along Akira’s recently-shaved jaw. “You tell me nearly everyday.”

Akira bumped their foreheads together gently, “And so do you, darling. I noticed it after the first time we celebrated your birthday together, when we started thinking about officially living together.”

Goro’s eyes flashed with chaotic excitement, lips curling into a grin only Akira was allowed to see, “Oh, do tell. This is news to me..”

And Akira only winked, pressing a finger to his smiling lips, “A Phantom Thief never reveals his secrets, you should know that by now~”

“They’re not even your secrets! Of course I know them, they’re mine to—“ Goro was cut off by how carefully Akira brushed his palms along Goro’s own jaw, taking in the scratchy and soft sides of his stubble, before his fingers rose to his temples and brushed through his hair, tugging out his little ponytail. 

“Hey Goro? I love you so much, honey.”

Goro snorted, but he leaned in and brushed their noses together, holding Akira’s prominent cheekbones under his palms carefully. Goro gave a light kiss or two to his lips and nuzzled their noses together before he whispered against his lips a quick, “I love you too, Akira... Marry me?”

And Akira was the next to snort, his grin wide against Goro’s lips. “Again? After all that the gang wanted us to do for the wedding?” Akira wet his bottom lip, an ankle hooking into one of Goro’s for even more intimacy as he whispered back, “Yes.. A thousand times yes.”

A child’s voice called out as they shared a loving kiss. “Daddy, look! Look!!”

They both broke away to look up, instinctively looking over to the playground, Akira’s goofy grin showing up on his face a few seconds before Goro’s. Goro spoke up, head tilted a little as he often did with children, “Wow!! You’re so tall up there !!”  
Akira was quick to respond too with a voice alight with fake surprise, “When did you get so tall?! Did you have a growth spurt without telling me?!”

Their child giggled, little hands holding a swirly bar of plastic as she showed how high up the little cube of plastic was. With a loud “Watch me!!”, she slid down, hands spread out wide in celebration when she left the mouth of the twirling slide. With a dramatic bow (there were still arguments on which one taught her that) that encapsulated both the air of Joker and Crow’s princely appearances, their little girl absolutely basked (that Akira could take credit for, at least) in her dads’ rounds of applause and whooping. And then off she went again, guiding a smaller little boy towards some shorter slides, despite his pleas to do the “big kid” one. 

Goro smiled so lovingly over at them, his hands clasped back into his own lap, before he looked to see Akira staring at him, smiling. “...What?”

Akira rested an elbow on the back of their bench, his hand at the side of his smirking face, “Being a father looks so sexy on you.”

Goro scoffed, though how he flushed at that was not at all lost on Akira, “So that’s why we got another?” 

“Mm, maybe it looks sexy on me too? Is that why you agreed?”

Another scoff, more comical than the last, “I enjoy how you treat our little monsters, how good of a father you are when they’re upset or want to play..” Goro got a bit quieter, “I have a lot to learn from you… and I’m glad we can give them the childhoods we went without.”

Though he was flattered, feeling the violent fluttering in his belly, Akira kept looking at Goro expectantly for more.

“Ugh, fine— it just suits you so well. I never wanted to interact with kids— I only had bad memories, but then we babysat Ann and Shiho’s kid and.. God, I just wanted one to call our own. Their silly little laughs and toothless smiles when something interests them, watching them walk and being proud of taking care of someone so small and—and…” Goro slumped in his seat, looking over to peer at Akira with wide eyes. “I just wanted to have my own little family with you. Little ones to protect, whether they were little cats or dogs or-or ferrets, I don’t know!”

And there Akira went, wiping away a few tears from his eyes before he pulled Goro into an embrace. They both stayed quiet, drinking in the smell and warmth of home. 

“I really do find you as a father to be attractive, if I’m honestly speaking..”

Akira gave a single bark of laughter. “Hah, knew it.”


End file.
